Black-tailed skimmer
Freshly emerged males look just like yellow-brown females; the powder-blue colour with a black tail only develops as they mature.
| Where | Lakes, ponds and slow rivers with bare banks |
|---|---|
| Size | 44 to 53 mm long |
| When | June to September |
Mature males have a broad, flattened blue abdomen with a black tip; females and young males are yellow-brown with a dark ladder pattern down the back.
Adults perch on bare ground or rocks beside open water to bask, rather than hanging from waterside vegetation like many other dragonflies.
Traits
Habitat
Wetland
Colour
Blue, Black, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The keeled skimmer's wing spot (pterostigma) is yellow-brown rather than black, and keeled skimmer males lack the black abdomen tip that mature black-tailed skimmer males show; it also favours acidic heathland streams rather than open lakes.
Questions
Is the Black-tailed skimmer dangerous to people?
The Black-tailed skimmer is harmless to people.
When can you see the Black-tailed skimmer?
The Black-tailed skimmer can be seen from June to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Michael Apel, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Dragonflies and damselflies›Skimmers›Orthetrum
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.